Examples Of Selflessness In Beowulf

Evolution of man can be judiciously observed by analyzing literature from pagan history and literature from the medieval time period. As a literary representative of pagan history, “Beowulf” characterizes the archetypal hero that is exemplified in that era. On the other hand, the men and women from the “Canterbury Tales” define the true meaning of the common man. The development of man can be assessed through bravery, selflessness, and faithfulness.

Beowulf is unmistakably very courageous, and his motivation sparks a desire to prove his fearlessness to the men who he respects. He enters Heorot full of stories about his valor and his prowess in combat, and, as the reader eventually finds out, he can back them up. When Unferth challenges Beowulf’s

true boldness, the hero rebukes with, “Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked.” (572-573). He validates his bravery through three deeds in the epic: Abiding Hrothgar and killing Grendel, murdering Grendel’s wicked mother, and slaying the dragon that jeopardized the Geats. Throughout his life, Beowulf establishes his bravery by taking on and extinguishing malicious monsters, and sheltering those people who are feebler than he. Beowulf’s leadership and boldness is passed on to his successor, Wiglaf, who uses his might to defeat the dragon. “Then a stern rebuke was bound to come from the young warrior to the ones who had been cowards” (2860-2861). In “The Canterbury Tales”, courage is less meaningless to the characters of Chaucer. In stories such as “Wife of Bath”, “Pardoner’s Tale”, “Miller’s Tale”, and “Reeve’s Tale”, most of the men are cowards and show signs of corruption. In the Wife of Bath’s story, the knight is afraid to face his deed of rape until the queen gives him a second chance. He also begins to feel sentimental for himself, which show the traits of a true coward. “Sad was the knight and sorrowfully sighed, but there! All other choices were denied” (Chaucer 131). In “The Pardoner’s Tale”, the drunkards had a goal to destroy the enemy, Death. Nevertheless, that goal was disenchanted when they discovered eight bushels of gold coins underneath an oak tree. All three of the men lose their original motivation to greed and cowardice. “To men in such a state the Devil sends thoughts of this kind, and has a full permission… to lure them on sorrow and perdition” (Chaucer 119). From pagan times to medieval, true bravery evolves into timidity, which proves that the value of man has digressed.
The next test to these works of literature is the test of selflessness.

True selflessness is defined as having little or no concern for oneself, especially with regard to fame, position, money, etc. Beowulf is eager to risk his life for strangers, which is relatively humane. He is not necessarily motivated by altruism in his mission to kill Grendel, but rather by a desire to prove himself and enhance his reputation, a perfectly valid motive in his day. Beowulf believes he may not return from the battle that is not really his; yet he chooses a few soldiers, equips himself and his men, and he makes the death-defying crossing deprived of any expectations from the people at the other end of his excursion. These selfless attributes show themselves later in Beowulf's leadership style. Beowulf never backed down from combat. Although Beowulf receives many gifts of gold and wealth after defeating Grendel, he is unhesitant to equally distribute these gifts to the men sacrifice their lives to join Beowulf. “The chieftain went on to reward the others: Each man on the bench who had sailed with Beowulf and risked the voyage received a bounty, some treasured possession. And compensation, a price in gold, was settled for the Geat Grendel had cruelly killed earlier. (1049-1054)” As he perishes, Beowulf appears to feel conflicted about the treasure that he has won from the dragon. “The old lord gazed sadly at the gold. "To the everlasting Lord of All, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that

I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people so well endowed on the day I die." (2793-2798)” The traits that Beowulf displays in his epic are nothing in comparison to the men of “The Miller and Reeve’s Tale.” The tale of the Miller describes the story of how a young scholar tricks a carpenter to get his daughter into bed. The scholar’s true selfishness is derived from his mischievous plan to stage an apocalypse to buffoon the old man to have his daughter to himself. The other act of selfishness described in the Miller’s Tale is when Nicholas takes advantage of Absolon to have his way with Alisoun.
The final task at hand in expanding the evolution of man in “Beowulf” and “The Canterbury Tales is to analyze an area of common ground.

Both characters from pagan history and medieval times share the trait of pride, or in another sense, arrogance. The Anglo-Saxons believed that pride was a measure of one’s success in life. Warriors who were victorious in battle were prideful due to their achievements. Beowulf was a man of his skills, and he was not afraid to boast. He knew his capabilities and he wanted to make sure that everyone knew as well. "I have heard moreover that the monster scorns in his reckless way to use weapons; therefore, to heighten Hygelac's fame and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend." (433-440) Beowulf also is defensive of his reputation, especially if a “coward” like Unferth challenges him. "Well, friend Unferth, you have had your say about Breca and me. But it was mostly beer that was doing the talking. The truth is this: when the going was heavy in those high waves, I was the strongest swimmer of all." (529-534). In Chaucer’s depiction of man in tales such as “Wife of Bath”, “Pardoner’s Tale”, “Miller’s Tale”, and “Reeve’s Tale”. In “Wife of Bath”, the knight shows his arrogance by committing the rape. “By very force he took her maidenhead.” (Chaucer 131) The “Pardoner’s Tale” reminds the reader how greed can overthrow

fate. Two friends’ superciliousness is displayed when they plot to kill their third friend: “I’ll up and put my dagger through his back while you and he are struggling, as in game; then draw your dagger too and do the same.” (Chaucer 118). “The Reeve’s Tale” and “The Miller’s Tale” both repeat a similar plotline in which prideful young men take advantage of an older and superior figure for lust and payback. It is obvious that there is, indeed, a commonality between characters from “Canterbury Tales” and “Beowulf”. Even though there are other pieces of evidence that show that men have changed between pagan times and medieval times, there is still some evidence showing that there are some attributes that are viewed as mutual.
Even though the characteristics of “Beowulf” and “The Canterbury Tales” characters share a common characteristic, it is evident that “Beowulf” shows more moral value. Hence, the evolution of man is a digression from a faithful, loyal, and archetypal hero to a jealous, weak, and corrupt common man. The development of man can be assessed through bravery, selflessness, and faithfulness; Beowulf’s character and plot have proven that members from pagan history are indeed of higher moral value than those of medieval times.